BIZ BAHRAIN JAN-FEB 2018

Highlights | Technology
Technology Trends to
watch in 2018
To predict the future, one must not
only consider what is trending
now, but also look what is missing.
Technology that truly is innovative
doesn't look to solve a problem that isn't
there. The next big thing or things, will
address the demands of consumers and
the needs of businesses, and make life
better. Tech innovation could come in
many different forms.
Mobile Phones: The smartphone
has become the universal device that
is carried by almost everyone almost
everywhere. 2018 won't be the year of the
smartphone, but it could be the year the
smartphone does even more.
Wearables: 2018 could be the
year that wearable devices finally go
mainstream - but to do so, they may
need a redesign. That development could
require a shift away from wired devices,
such as earbuds for smartphones to
Bluetooth enabled headphones and
speakers. Wearables are going to be
more present and more invisible than
ever in 2018. Longer battery life, more
fashionable form factors, easier to
wear, and more sustainability are going
to contribute to wider adoption of
wearables in 2018.
Facial Recognition: Facial
recognition technology could become
far more widespread in 2018.Facial
recognition is already here, behind
the scenes in an increasing number of
commercial and public spaces. Soon
it will show up everywhere from cash
registers and ATMs to home security
systems and smart signs that tailor
content to the viewer.
Artificial Intelligence: Artificial
intelligence will continue to get smarter
and possibly take on new roles. Machine
learning and artificial intelligence will
penetrate further into our lives and
impact a lot of the processes that are
currently manual. This will be especially
true in online marketing and digital
media.
Data analytics and Business
Intelligence: Business intelligence and
data analytics activities are becoming
easier to perform, and that’s driving their
adoption in mainstream businesses
that are seeking to make better, faster
decisions.
Chatbots: Chatbots are becoming
more mainstream as people see the
benefits of those experiments, especially
in customer service and support. . AIpowered
chatbots are learning how to
respond to customers and predict what
they want.
Cloud: Cloud is a mindset. The
larger enterprises are finally becoming
comfortable and confident with
cloud security and the cloud itself.
Governments are also taking the steps to
putting out citizen-facing non-sensitive
data and applications on the cloud.
Blockchain: Blockchain provides a
distributed, secure, and unique system
of records, so you can have a strongly
encrypted authentication mechanism
that prevents malicious users from
breaking in. In 2018, we’ll like start
seeing blockchain adoption in areas
such as banking, financial services, and
health care.
Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency
could be among the big trends to watch
in 2018.
Cyber Security Threats
and Defence Strategies
Today there is no doubt that cyber
security is one of the hottest topics
in the realm of Information Technology.
With almost every new technology trend
such as Internet of Things(IoT), Next
Generation Data Centre (NGDC), cloud
adoption whether it is public/private/
hybrid, Digital Economy, IT Compliance,
BYoD, Shadow IT, and few others there
is a new form of cyber-security that
evolves with it, such as IoT Security,
Cloud Security, NGDC security for SDN
& NFV, CBSA security (Cloud-based
Services and Applications), and so on are
becoming key.
Many of these security trends fall
under network security, which can be
divided into 3 fundamental security
aspects:
1-Infrastructure Protection
2-Malware and Data leakage mitigation
3-Threat Containment and Operations
Cyber Security Strategies for Companies
in Bahrain in 2018
There are fundamentally 3 things
we need to change and the first one
is the siloed approach. You have to
basically build security in a fluid
manner where layers are fused together
and interacting more. So you have to
have closed-loop feedback. If something
is detected, you need a system that is
able to flag up the issue him so it can
be dealt with proactively. Proactivity is
the key term here, but that correlation
has to exist. The second fundamental
change is ‘Threat Intelligence’.
Traditionally all the functionality
was in the policy enforcement point
inside the firewall and all the policies
were in there. That’s obviously not
going to work anymore. To get there,
customers need to consolidate their
threat intelligence into a high integrity
curated platform that is backed up by a
solid research team and accomplished
data scientists.
The third fundamental change
required is a communication fabric that
models threat in the same way. When
you’re discussing digital equipment and
technology you need to be prescriptive.
We don’t all understand what the
language is to describe the threat. I
mean to the human being it’s easy to
say this is a threat.
If we fundamentally change all
these three things mentioned above,
then the world will be a much safer
place and we will definitely be more
efficient and faster in responding to
encounter problems again.
68 January-February 2018